Locomotive sanding device.



Patented july a, |902.

J. C. HODPER. LOGMOTIVE SANDING DEVICE.

(Application led Mar. 6, 1902.) (No Modeln NVENTH v INTO/HIE".

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liz-N TN: Norms PETERS cn CZ O Wl T NESSES UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

` JOHN O. HOOPER, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR TO ECONOMY LOCOMOTIVE SANDER COMPANY, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, A COR- PORATION OF MARYLAND.

LOCOIVIOTIVE'SANDING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 704,037, dated J' uly 8, 1902.

Application led March 6, 1902.

To all whom it' may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN CAMPER HoorEE, a citizen ofthe United States, residing in the city of Baltimore, State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Locomotive Sanding Devices, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this 1o specication.

My invention relates to locomotive sanding devices and is designed to provide a tracksanding device for locomotives, adapted to be supported on the side of the engine and outi 5 side the sand-dome instead of inside the latter, as usual; and although Vit embodies the fundamental principle of construction of the inside sanding device patented to me by Letters Patent of the United States No. 652,212,

so dated June 19, 1900, it is a different embodiment of that principle and contains novel features of construction distinctively its own. As in my former device, described inv said patent, the ultimate objects sought to be at- 2 5 tained by my present invention are the regulating and control of the quantity of sand to be discharged by the air-blast at each operation of thev blast and the prevention ofclogging of the sand-discharge valves and passages.

To these ends my present invention consists of the several elements and in their combination and arrangement to adapt them to be supported and operate outside the sand-dome and to regulate the discharge of sand therefrom by the air-blast to the track. -V

ln the drawings, to which reference is made, Figure 1 is a side elevation of an engine, its sand-dome, the sand-pipe leading therefrom 4o to the sander,'the sand-delivery pipes leading therefrom to the track, the air-blast pipes leading to the sander, and my improved sanding device in its relation to these several parts; and Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional View, taken longitudinally, of my improved sanding device.

The sand-dome or containing receptacle for sand usually employed on a locomotive-engine is indicated at A, and a a are the sand-pipes 5o leading therefrom to my sanding device. ff

Serial No. 96,888. (No model.)

are the air-blast pipes leading to the sanding device from the cab of the engine, the supply of air-pressure being under the control of the engineer through the usual medium of an attached cock or valve. (Not shown in the drawings, because well known.) Sanddelivery pipes g g lead from the sanding device around the Wheels, as usual, to the trackrails. Ordinarily these valvular sanding devices are placed within the sand-dome A; but it is to be observed that my present sanding device is located entirely outside of the dome and is secured upon the side of the boiler or frame of the locomotive-engine.

Referring now to Fig. 2, the upper portion or receiving end b of the sander is tubular and has an eXteriorly-screw-threaded end b', While interiorly said end is of relatively enlarged diameter, providing an annular supportingledge ?92, upon which is placed a washer b3 and upon it a sleeve b4. A screwthreaded pipe-nut c, provided with an eXterior annular flange c', rests upon the end of the tubular portion b' and is secured in place thereon by the ianged locking screw-ring c2. 7 5 The sand-pipe a, leading from the dome A, couples'with the said pipe-nut c. The function of the removable sleeve b4 or of any other like sleeve'ofjdifferent internal diameter is to regulate the quantity of sand delivered 8o through the same to the air-chambers of the sander. The central body d of the sander is substantially ofthe form of a hollow frustum of a cone, at the base of which is a solid'conical body d', so that the hollow pas- 85 sage-way therein for sand is an inclined tubular passage d2. Proceeding from the base of the central body d of the sander, on opposite sides thereof, are tubular arms cl3, these being slightly curved longitudinally and 9o screw-threaded at the end to couple with the sand-discharge pipes g g. At the ba'se of the sander, at or about the junction of the pasvsage d3 with the passage d2, are provided openings h h, serving as hand-holes and closed by screw-caps h h'. At the central base of the sander openings are provided, into which are screwed air-blast nipple-tubes m m, and to the projecting ends of these are coupled the blast-pipes ff, leading to the cab roo and controlled by the engineeris valve,l as before stated. These nipple-tubes m fm have a passage n, the outlet or discharge end of which is preferably at right angles to the inlet end, as shown, and is necessarily and required to be in line with the longitudinal direction of the tubular arms d3. It is preferably located beneath the outer edge of the base of the solid conical body d within the `interior of the body of the sander and is necessarily and required to be at the base of the inclined passage d2 and at the rear of and in alinementvwith the tubular and slightly- In the drawings my decurved passage d3. vice is shown as a double sander-that is to say, with two opposite discharge-passages d3 d3 and with duplicated air-nozzles n on each side of the partition-wall d4 of the shield; but it is obvious that the device can be made single instead of double.

The functions of the several parts and the utility of the device as a whole maybe brieiy described from the following statement of the mode of operation-namely,an outside sander is provided, every interior part of which is at all times readily accessible, and clogging with stones or other foreign matter is for that reason, as well as by reason of thecharacter of the sand-passages, wholly avoided. The tubular receiving end of the sander is readily adjusted as to size by the adjustable sleeve, whereby the quantity or volume of flow of sand, which falls by gravity from the dome, is controlled. The inclined passage-way d2 is at all times practically free from air-blast pressure and readily delivers the falling sand to the air-chamber proper, which is thetubular discharge ends d3 d3, and these being upwardly curved toward their ends constitute a measuring-chamber, because it is obvious that by reason of such end curvature the flow of sand by gravity will be held in check when said tubular chamber d3 becomes filled with sand The location and arrangement described of the air-blast nipple-tubes m m,with their discharge-openings n at the base of the chamber, with the superposed shield therefor formed by the base of the conical body cl, never interferes with but rather accelerates the downward flow of sand by gravity through the inclined passage d2, because I believe the described relative arrangement of the parts creates a suction at the base of said inclined passage, and said discharge-nozzle n being at the rear of the tubular discharge-passage cl3 and in alinement therewith readily and completely causes the volume of sand deposited as aforesaid in said tubular chamber d3 to be blown out by the application of the blast through pipes g g discharging through the' blast-nipples m fm, or either of them, of the sander.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- l. A sanding device consisting essentially of an integral `casing containing an initial vertically arranged tubular inlet Jpassage,

having an enlarged diameter at its mouth end,

the direction of discharge from the air-nozzle.`

2. A sanding device consisting essentially of an integral casing containing an initial.

vertically-arranged tubular inlet-passage, a downwardly-inclined passage leading therefrom, an air-blast nozzle below the saine, in the base of the casing, a shield over the same, and a tubular discharge-passage communicating with the inclined passage at its lower end and slightly curved upward, said airnozzle being arranged to discharge an air-blast in the direction of the iow of sand `through the curved discharge-passage.

3. A sanding device consisting essentially of an integral casing containing an initial vertically-arranged tubular inlet-passage, means to connect sand-delivery tubes therewith, means to adj ustably change the size of the passage, a downwardly-inclined passage leading from said initial inlet, an air-blast nozzle below the inclined passage in the base of the casing, a shield over the same, and a tubular dischargepassage slightly curved upward communicating with the inclined passage at its lower end, and arranged in substantial alinement with the direction of discharge from the air-nozzle. v

4. In combination with a sand-dome having a discharge-pipe, of a sanding device into which sand is fed by gravity, said sanding device consisting essentially of a vertical tubular inlet and downwardly-inclined passage leading therefrom, a horizontally-disposed tubular discharge-passage leading from the base of the inclined passage and slightly curved upward toward its discharge end, an air-blast nozzle arranged and adapted to discharge at the rear of and in alinement with the tubular discharge-chamber, and a shield over said air-blast nozzle adapted to deliect therefrom the iiow of sand through the inclined passage and direct it wholly against the body of sand in the discharge-chamber.

5. A sanding device consisting essentially of a hollow casing having at top an initial tubular sand-inlet, and at base a horizontally-disposed tubular sand-discharge passage, a wall at the interior base of the casing, and a shieldLsupport-ed thereon, said shield having a flat base and a vertically-inclined side at the top thereof in alinement with the sand-inlet, forming by such construction and combination of said elements an inclined Sand-passage leading from the sand-inlet to the sand-discharge, and also forming thereby IIO .l K l sage for sand, and two opposi'cely-disposed tubular sand-discharge passages leading from the base of the casing, a shield having a flat base and opposite inclined sides centrally disposed withinv the casing and with its apex in alinement with the initial sand-passage,there by forming two oppositely-disposed inclined passages leading from the initial sand-inlet to the respective sand-discharge passages, a partition-wall supporting said shield-above the base of the casing in suchi manner as to form separate chambers, and an air-blast nipv ple in each of said chambers arranged to discharge in alinement with the adjacent tubular sand-discharge passage of the casing; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto afxed my signature this 28th day of February,

JOHN C. HOOPER. Witnesses:

MILLARD LEONARD, J. C. HAYNL 

